Device for spinning and twisting textile fibers



April 1933- v 4 v G. N. GODDARD 1,905,280

DEVICE FOR SPINNING AND TWISTING TEXTILE FIBERS Filed June so, 1927 o of imperfect yarn and its liabilitig Patented Apr. 25, 1933 PATENT OFFICE Gnomn N. GODDARD, or NEWTON, JILASSAOHUSETTS DEVICE FOR SPINNING AND TWISTINQ TEXTILE FIIBEBS L Application filed June 30, 1927. Serial No. 202,680.

This invention relates to the art of spinning or twisting textile fibers, andis intended to provide a simple, convenient and practical device for spinning and-twisting fibers which shall overcome or minimize certain practical difliculties experienced in this art as heretofore practiced. The commonly used ring and traveler spinning is open to serious criticism because of its production to frequent breakages of the yarn en in the spinning operation and consequent waste of roving and loss of production. -Moreover, the practical limit of production with the ring and traveler has already been reached in'spite of improvements in pindles which would permit a materially higher speed.

The present invention affords a solution ning device of that type have been so little understood that .none of the constructions proposed were capable of even the slightest use for spinning under actual mill conditions. Every such' proposed device was 55 based either on the theory of a ring floating loosely inside its containing holder or of a frictional drag ring which would be frictionally' draggedaround by the revolvm ing yarn although at a. slower speed.

I have discovered that both the floating ring theory and the ,drag rin'g theory are wholly untenable and that successful spinning' with a loosely mounted copping ring can be effected only by establishing certain conditions or relations which have heretofore been entirely overlooked. L

These conditions must be such as to mainof these dificulties by making possible a min a true rolling action of the cop ing very substantial increase in speed of pro- 29 ring inside its holder which. will resu t in m duction while at the same time improving the quality of the yarn as to strength, elasticity and evenness besides minimizing the breaking of ends and consequent waste and loss of production.

This invention consists primarily in the combination of a loose yarn-engaging ring which serves both as a copping member and a tension member'with an'annular holder or track member inside of which the copping ring has a continuous rolling or slightly orbital movement under the constant push or driving action of the yarn. The yarn tension produced is due largely to the inertia or resistance to the push of the yarn so that variations-in tension may be effected by varying the mass or weight of the rolling ring as well as by .such changesin form as will affect the frictional retardation of the yarn in a manner hereinafter to be described. This and other features of the-invention will be more precisely pointed out in the following specification and in the claims annexed.

While the use of a loose copping ring interiorly mounted in a surrounding holder was proposed nearly a century agoand repeated efforts have been made to devise a spinning 'device on that principle, the essential requisites to a successful operative spina relatively slow rotation of the ring in a direction reverse to that of the revolving yarn. To establish such reverse rotation however two things are of vital importance.

First, there-must be a suflicient clearance ping ring must be sufiiciently light in weight so thatits mass interia will not oppose too much resistance to the revolution of the yarn, a point that has never before been understood since the mass or weight of the rings heretofore suggested 'has been altounder various forms, a spinning device and, second,

fyarn, that is, the yarn-enof Waste, whether lap waste or lint.

forms in. the accompanying drawing, in

which; v

Figure 1 IS a vertical cross section in a much enlarged scale illustrating one form of construction.

Figure 2 is a-plan view thereof on a somewhat reduced scale.

Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6 are similar cross sectional views showing various modifications of the form of copping ring and holder.

Figure 7 is a detail showing in vertical diametrical section one form of 'ressed steel ring that may be used in a ho der similar to that shown in Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a cross sectional view of a modified ring. p

This application is a continuation of my earlier filed allowed application, Serial No. 281,261 filed March 6, 1919', so far as concerns the subject matter or disclosure common to both applications.

The material of which the loose copping ring is made may be either metal or anonmetal, such as vulcanized fiber or bakelized pulp. As steel is approximately five times the weight of fiber the cross sectional area of the fiber ring may be practically five times as great as that of the steel. If steel be used it would preferably be in the form of pressed steel to obtain the requisite lightness and stifi'ness of the ring to preventithe unsupported portion ,of the ring from springing up into the inside of the holdingdown lip under tension of an upward ull of the yarn, as will be presentlydescn d.

In practice the copping ring, whether metallic or non-metallic, used for spinning medium counts of fillin yarn would have \a weight of approximate y seven grains, and in any case must be so thoroughly polished on their surfaces exposed to the contact with the yarn as to-afl'ord not even the most minute obstruction or scratch that could act to catch and retard the yarn. .In short, the yarn-engaging surfaces of the rings should be made as nearly frictionless as it is possible to make them.

The ring-engaging orbearing surfaces of the holder should also be very smoothly finished but not necessarily .to as high a degree of smoothness as is 'requisitefor the ring.

In Figures 1 and 2'1 have shown a s-im le form of ring and holder in' which the ho er is made in two parts comprising a cast metal base 1, having an upstanding flange 2, provided with an outwardly projecting or overhanging shoulder 3, which may project less than onesixty-fourth of an inch for positively enga "ng the non-metallic mem er 5 which, in t is case, forms the container for the loose copping ring 8, and for ring and prevent its'beingpulled from the holder by the yarn. It will be understood that the parts as shown in Figure 1 and even in Figure 2, are on a scale very greatly exaggerated to show fully the details of construction. The holding down lip 6, at its innner edge portion particularly, is very thin in order to prevent contact with the reyolving yarn and" allow a yarn-admitting slot to be cut through one side of the holder on a substantiall radial line. By reducing the inner edge 0 the lip to a thin edge, say approximately one-sixty fourth of an inch in thickness, the use of a radial yarn admitting slot is possible to "vs a proper amount of clearance between t e copping ring and the holding-down lip to avoid the catching of the ballooning yarn in the upperportion of such radial slot which would occur unless the edge of the ii is quite thin, owing to the divergence of th ward the outside. The advantage of this arrangement over a diagonal slot is that it permits the yarn to revolve freely in either direction where .it is desired to reverse the twist.

0f the utmostimportance is the clearance space to. be provided betweenthe periphery of the copping ring and the lower inside edge of the retaining lip 6. 7 To give proper clearance the ring and the holder are so proportioned that the outside of the ring, while appreciably larger than the interior of the lip, is also enough smaller than the peripheral wall of the ring-receiving groove so that the ring when forced to one side by the thrust oi bent shaped clearance space extending nearly one-third of the way around the holding lip between the holding lip and the rin so that this clearance space, at the point w ere the yarn is in contact with the ring, will be ample to prevent the yarn at that point from rubbing a ainst the edge of the lip.

To make per ectly' plain the practical re- 'lationship'of these parts, but without prescribing exaet dimensions, I ma say that a coppmg'fring whose external 'ameter is very slightly under one and one-half'inches may be about forty-thousandths inch larger diameter than the interiordiameter of the holdingdown lip, while the groove in the holder. may be cut in about sixty one-thousandths ofan inch so as to leave a clearance space a proximately twenty-thousandths inch 'wi e at its widest o1 medial point.

is portion of the yarn tothe engaging yarn, leaves a ores-- the yarn ,to be spun, but as there is a tendside of the'ring opposite the point of yarn contact has a lateral thrust outward against the outer wall of the groove, and a downward thrust against the bottom wall 7 of the groove, that is, the yarn tends to pull the free or unsupported side of the ring which it engages upward inside. the lip, and correspondingly tilts the opposite side downward against the bottom of the groove.

To avoid the rubbing action against the bottom of the ring, due to its lateral movement under its continual displacement by the yarn, I prefer to make the holder in a form that will aiiord more of a rolling contact against the downward thrust-sup orting surface of the ring since such. rub ing contact may; under some conditions, roughen the bottom surface of the ring enough to undul increase the 6118101 larger portion of the ring does not actually contact with the outer wall of the groove.

. The downward thrust is supported by the underneath face of the outwardly project- -ing,-larger portion of the ring, while the yarn passes across from the outer periphery at the top to the bottoin portion of the ring without e aging the two bearing faces which contact with the bearing surfaces of the holder. .Ordinarily this'form of ring would be made of non-metallic material because a metallic ring of steel or other suitable metal would be too heavy. Moreover, it will be noticed that close beneath the bottom edge of the ring lying in the holder is an inclined surface or edge 23 whose tune tion is to guide or lift the rin when starting the frame into position w ere its exte rior flange will ride over the rounded'corner of the ledge 22. A similar surface 28is found in the holder 26 for use with a metallic ring 29 whose outer flange is upwardly- .inclined to ride over and engage the inner portion of the inclined bearing face 27 The higher ortion. of the ledge 28 is close enough to t 1e lowest inmost portion of the ledge 27 to allowa very small metallic ring to shift into place when the frame is started 'without catching against the vertical face 'of' theshoulder 27. The pressed metal ring 29 is shown with its outer 'tlanged portion In igure 3 Ihave shown an all-metal on thus upwardly i lin d M29 one-piece holder 10 provided with an interior groove for receiving the fiber copping ring 16, the peripheral wall ofsaid groove 7 comprising an upper substantially vertical portion or surface 13, and a lower portion or bearing surface 12-, inclined inwardly at an obtuse angle to .the vertical portion 13. .This obliqnethrust wall, inclined at an an- 'gle of about 45 from the vertical axis, will adequately sustain the downward thrust because the lateral pressure is greater than the downward pressure, and it gives practically a rolling contact for the ring which also eliminates the rubbing. action while the ring is running.

In Figures 4, 5 and 6 I have shown specifically 'difi'erent forms of ring and holder whose commoir characteristic is that the yarn-contacting suriaces of the ring do not have bearing engagement or contact .with

I the holder, while-at the sametime providing 5 therequisite degree of clearance.

In Figure 4 thei'fiber' or Bakelite ring 25 is made of angular form in cross section by cutting away'the outer lower corner portion of the ring sufliciently so that, when its smaller. peripheral surface is engaged against the'shoulder 22 of the holder, the opposite sideof the-larger upper portion is located the requisite distance withinthe inside ed'gemf the holding down lip 24; suflia ciently to give the requisite clearance, but

at the same time the peripheral. face of the In Figure. 6- the holding down lip 3i projects inwardly from the holder into an externally grooved ring 33-,of fiber or Bakelite, the holder being provided with a shouli der at, 32 above the lip "to form a bearing surface for the upper portion of the grooved ring 33 against whichtlie .yarndoes not ordinarily come in contalet; This form of ring must necessarily be; ot'thin construction to keep its mass within..- tl1fl required weight.

In Figure 7 and 8 arej shown two forms of pressed steel ring which it is'believed are no most satisfactory". I In this 'casethe stifi'i metal base 36 car- .ri'esa fiber or Bakelite retaining member 37, which is internallygrooved to provide a lateral thrust surface that is substantially vertical, and an inwardly sloped underneath thrust surface 39, for engaging a corre sponding phrtion of the copping ring 35. The copping ring is shown as having a vertical outsidefface, a horizontally disposal bottom face and an intermediate oblique face corresponding to the angle of inclination of the surface 39 'of the holder. "The size of the ring, of -course, as in the other vcases, is much exaggerated, and in fact the,

' ringof'theshape shown should be made of a fine, grade of steel of approximately ten or eleven-thousandths of an inch in thickness, 'the over-all height of the ring from top to bottom being approximately three sixty- .fdurthsof an inch; having reference to a filling ring of the kind mentioned above.

The fiber holder may be held against accidental displacement by set screws 38 passing through portions of the base 36.

n Figure 8 I have shown a somewhat simpler form of pressed steel ring 40 where the main portion of the ring is oblique while its outer and top surfaces are finishec off to form substantially right angled hear- --ing surfaces.

When the copping rail 11, in which it will be understood that the various forms of holders used. are mounted, is descending the yarn assumes the oblique position shown in Figure l and other figures of the drawing.

On the other hand, when'the copping rail rises the yarn will assume angular position, such as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 7. It is, therefore, important that the inner bottom ed e of the copping ring be finished as smoot 11y as" other parts because on each descent of the rail the yarn comes in contact with that corner.

angles or corners exposed to contact with the yarn should be slightly rounded to avoid leaving any sharp edge to scrape or cut the yarn.

When using a fiber or bakelized holder I prefer to make such holder out of tubing which, when out through on one side, has the property of contracting somewhat in both cases. To maintain the proper dimensions some means should be inserted inside such holder to resist the contracting action. In the drawing I have shown the cast-metal 'base arranged 'to project inside the nonmetallic holder both to prevent such contractionand also to afford a frictional grip between the holder and the base.

It will be observed that allforms of the ring have an annular flat-top or upper hearing surface extending to the outer edge or periphery. This is a very important feature in securing an operative r ng, because if this upper outside corner of the ring be rounded or bevelled the inevitable consequence thereof would be to cause the ring to partly wedge itself inside of the holding-' down lip when tht free side of the ring is drawn upward by the tension of the yarn.

The copp'ing ring is only a little larger than the inner edge-of the holding-down ring and the reducing of the effective diameter of the upper bearing surface of the ring is suflicient to produce the wedging action and make it impossible to spin the yarn.

It will also be noticed that the various forms of oopping ring are cut away orreduced in diameter at their lower outside corner, which results inseveral advantages according to the form of this portion of the ring and of the corresponding portion of the holder. In all cases this reducing the diame'-- ter of the lower portion ofthe peripheral surface of the rmg results in materially All shortening the distance between the point of actual contact of the yarn with the periphery of the ring and the inside thin holding lip. The rapidly-revolving yarn tends to stand out or balloon away from the ring as illustrated in the drawing. If the ring be given the full diameter at its lower out' side corner there'ismuch greater likelihood that the ballooning yarn will contact with the interior edge of the holding-down The advantage of cutting away this lower portion of the ring periphery to form a bevelled bearing surface, as in the form shown in Figs. 3, 7 and 8, to provide a rollin contact for supporting the downward t rust instead of a rubbing contact, have already been explained. Also the advantages of cutting away this portion of the ring to form an annular groove, as in the form shown in Figs. 4 and 5, to avoid all contact of the yarn with the bearing portions of the ring have been explained. Moreover, the cutting away of this lower peripheral portion of the ring is found to lessen theco-efiicient of friction between ,the yarn and the co ping-ring, which is importantto the satisfactory operation of the device.

. It will be seen that the filling ring for medium counts of-yarn,"whose dimensions and weight have been approximately indicated- -above for purposes of illustrating thepractical application of the principles herein disclosed to a ring of this type, would have a weight not exceeding five grains per inch of- .the over-all diameter of the ring, a ratio which could be approximatelyfollowed for larger rings for spinning warps of medium or coarse counts. Any substantial excess weight beyond that indicated would, under ordinary conditions, prevent any spinning at all and even under very special conditions would result in such a severe tension as to cause such frequent breakages as would ren-- der the device unsatisfactory or impractica- -.ble, it being understood of course as a matter of common knowledge in the art that Warp yarns, which are commonly made of longer and stronger staple than filling yarns; could stand a somewhat increased ratio-on that account. Theclearance ratios and the necessity for an extraordinary degree of smoothness on the yarn-engaging surfaces of the ring to secure reverse rotation are .of

vital-importance, while theform of the ring lip.

What Iclaim is:

1. In a device for s inning and twisting textile fibers, the com ination of an outer holding member provided with an annual interior ring-receiving groove, an inner flattop copping ring over which the yarn has circumferential slipping engagement sufficient to eliminate any dragging of the ring by the yarn, thus permitting reverse rotation of the ring, both members bein proportioned to provide a crescent-1i e lateral clearance between them on one side sufiiciently wide to prevent contact of the yarn with the upper edge of said groove when the ring is pressed to the opposite side of the lateral thrust of the yarn, substantially as described. a

2. In a device for spinning textile fibers, the combination ofan exterior ring holder formed with an interior annular lip to resist the upward thrnstpf the ring, a flat:

top copping ring looselymounted inside said holder to be rolled around the interior thereof under the lateral pressure of the revolving yarn, said ring being provided with a yarn: engaging surface afiording a sufiiciently low frictional engagement with the yarn to cause said ring to have a true rolling engagement With the interior of the holder whereby said ring is caused torotate in a direction reverse to the revolution of the am, said ring and said lip being relative y proportioned to aflord adequate clearance to prevent the gain being pinched against the lower edge 0 the i p 3. In a device for spinning yarn, the combination of an exterior; non-rotating ring v holder, an interior yarn-engaging copping ring loosely mounted in said holder to be rolled around the inside thereof by the interposed revolving yarn, the ring and the holder being proportioned to leave a crescent shaped clearance space between the yarn-engaging portion of the ring and the adjacent edge of the holder wide enough to prevent contact of the revolving yarn with said edge of the holder, the outer and under surfaces of the ring having a sutliciently low frictional contact with the yarnito adord the requisite degreepf slip of the yarn to pro-'- duce a true rolling movement of the ring in the holder whereby rotation of the ring in the reverse direction to theldirection of revolutioniof the yarn is maintained,substantially as described.-

' 4. A copping element for a spinning device of the class described embracing 111 its constrpction a ring having a smooth, .flat upwardly exposed bearing surface for engagement withtlie under side of a retaining lip and having the upper part of its peripheral surface of approximately cylindrical formand the lower part of said peripheral surface disposed at an oblique angle to the upper portion of said periphery to form a rolling bearing surface against the holder and resisting the downward thrust of that side of the ring opposite to the contact point of the yarn. I

5. A copping element for a spinning device comprising a ring adapted to be loosely contained in an internally grooved surrounding holder, said ring having its peripheral surface formed ofupper and lower circumferential portions disposed at an oblique angle to each other, the upper portion being approximately cylindrical and the lower portion being of approximately frusto-conical form, and extending to the underneath horizontally disposed bottom surface of the ring, said surfaces being polished to a smoothness that will action'by the yarh.

6. A copping ring for a spinning device adapted to be loosely mounted in a containing holder, embracing a ring having an upwardly ex 'osed flat bearing surface extending to the peripheral edge of the ring, and having the lower portion of its periphery cut away to reduce the vertical depth of the prevent any dragging peri heral surface substantially belowlthe,

vertical thickness of the entire ring, there by maintaining the contact point of the yarn .nearer to said top bearing surface.

7. -A non-metallic copping ring for a spinhing device of the class described, comprising a ring of vulcanized fiber having a Hattop bearin surface, and having the lower portion 0 its periphery cut away to a smaller diameter.

8. A spinning device of the class described embracing a ring holder provided with an interior annular groove for the reception of a yarn-engagingcopping ring, said groove havin its top wall horizontally disposed and aving its interior peripheral wall formed by two circumferential angularly disposedannular surfaces forming bearing faces for sustaining respectively the lateral and the downward thrust of said inserted copping ring, and a yarn-engaging copping ring loosely mounted to be rolled around inside ofsaid groove by the thrust of the revolving yarn against its periphery, said ring being dimensioned to leave a crescentshaped clearance space between its peri hery and the upper edge of said groove su cient to prevent contact. of the yarn with said edge.

9. A device for spinning yarn embracing an exterior internally grooved rin holder, an interior yarn-engaging and gui in coping-rin loosely mounted in said hol er to e rolle around in said groove by the interposed revolving yarn, the ring and the cent-shaped clearance space between the peripheral yarn-engaged face of the ring and holder being proportioned to leave a cresthe adjacent edge of the grooved holder wide enough to prevent contact of the revolving yarn with said edge of the holder, the outer and the under surface of the ring having a; sufliciently low frictional contact with the yarn to afford .the requisite de ee of slip of the yarn to produce-a true rol ing movement of the ring 1n the holder, whereby rotation of the rin in thereverse direction to that of the revo ving yarn is maintained,-

said ring being of a weight not substantially in excess of fivegrains per inch of its over-all diameter.

In witness whereof, I have subscribed the above specification.

- GEORGE N. GODDARD. 

